Finding Heart
by 8cheshirekat
Summary: Neji/OC, Gaara/OC "Why! I don't understand! It hurts! Right here!" "Because you're finding your heart."
1. Chapter 1: First Meeting

(Neji/OC, Gaara/OC, OC/OC-implied) What do you say to someone who loves you? But what do you say after you reject them and they save your life? It's a hard way to fall, but if she can survive, Neji may have his family off his back.... the key is to get her to safety before she dies. But now, what do you do when the head Medic-Nin _is_ the one in need of help?

---Neji---

He stomped passed the door and heard his name.

Looking back, he saw Hizashi standing there. "Come here, Neji."

He followed orders and stood at arm's length. "Yes, sir?" he said, polite as ever.

"Have you ever thought of getting married?"

Neji had half a mind to blurt out a "no, sir" but thought better. "Yes, I've thought about it. I haven't done anything about it."

"Perhaps it's time you started. Is there anybody you have in mind?"

"No." Neji knew where this was going. Hinata had angled him towards looking for a future companion. "Sir, I will look into it, but I have no positive out-look that someone would chose me for their daughter." He gave a bow and walked away.

The moment he was around the corner, he leaned on the wall and breathed. He was tired of being asked such silly questions. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed Hizashi was watching him. Neji pretended to not have noticed and pushed off the wall, stomping to the front door.

Hanabi came home to see him like that and raised an eyebrow. "Hinata ask you about a wife again?"

Neji shook his head and sat down to put his shoes on. "Hinata, your mother, _and_ your father." He pulled his shoes on and patted her on the head, still sitting. "You still have that sparkle. Did he talk to you again?"

Hanabi had a huge crush on Kohnahamaru. Her face looked just like Hinata's.

"Well, kind of. He asked me for my address so I could help him with his kunai targets."

"Oh, well, at least he talks to you." Standing, Neji dusted himself off, picked up his bag, and opened the door. "Have fun. Hopefully, he won't be a mean person."

"What does that mean?!" Hanabi called after him, but Neji was gone already. "What _does_ that mean?"

Neji heard her ask herself that and he shook his head. He'd seen too many women go down the drain when their "boyfriends" turned their hand against the woman they "loved" for some reason or other. He knew that Kohnahamaru was a good kid and wasn't worried. He didn't think the grandson of the late Hokage would turn out mean at all.

He walked towards the Hokage's building. Today was his first, official mission to train future Jonin for their exams. He'd had to deal with Gai for four months without any other contact. It was like being tortured without the physical pain. Neji was told he would be joined by the four Medic-Nin and the Jonin training them. They would spend one month in the village, getting to know each other and train as a group, and then three months outside the village on three missions that would test the skills they already had.

Neji wasn't excited about it. He'd been chosen for this by the Hokage herself.

"Hey! I said stop!"

Neji looked around, stopping like the man had demanded. He saw a woman walking towards him.

She looked about the same age as Neji. On her back was a rather large slab of metal with a bandaged handle. It looked almost like a mega-sized kunai on her back. Her hair was a dark red and almost had a black shadow under it. Her eyes were a piercing blue that could've shrunk even the strongest man. Her shirt was odd because her left sleeve looked like it was stitched on and was a dark blue while the rest of her shirt was a light blue and the right sleeve was too long. Her pants were long and almost covered her feet. Her left foot was revealed to the ankle because of her head protector. She looked like the man was annoying her.

"I said to STOP!" He grabbed her elbow and wheeled her around.

Her wasit-length red hair settled to reveal him.

He was a stern man. His eyes and hair were black. He had two marks surrounding his left eye that resembled curved teeth. He wore a pair of dark blue pants and a dark gray top with long sleeves. He seemed enraged by the woman who was ignoring him.

"Why?! You just don't want me to head off on a mission! I'm not going for a month, ding bat!"

"Don't you talk to me that way!"

"I can talk to you anyway I please! You don't own me!"

"You know, ever since Yuki died, you've been acting like this!"

"You know, since Yuki died, you've been controlling me like a clingy mother!"

They were drawing attention and Neji started to feel sorry for the girl. This man was controlling her every move it seemed.

"Don't you talk back!" He raised his hand to slap her and she just stood there.

"I don't care!" She raised her hand and punched him. That seemed like a bad idea. He swung anyways and the impact made her slide back, but not lose her balance.

"Don't you try that petty talk with me!" He advanced on her and Neji reacted.

Intercepting, Neji stopped him from coming one step closer. "That's enough. Don't you see you're distracting people?" He gestured to the people lingering and whispering. "Leave her be."

He spat at Neji's feet. "You're just like Yuki, think you can butt in when you feel like it. One day, that's going to bite your head off."

Neji was about to retort when the woman grabbed his elbow to move him aside. "Got a problem? He's just a bystander who doesn't like ding bats like yourself. If he wants to interfere, let him. If he wants to fight you, I think he'd provoke you." She glared at him with her piercing eyes and he flinched. "You ruined a perfectly fine day, Kaito. Now, leave me alone before I tell the _Hokage_ why I'm late for my student introductions."

Kaito flinched back when she emphasized "Hokage" with such anger. "You didn't say anything about that!"

"Kaito, you're not a ninja anymore because of Yuki. I kept going because I believed in what he did. Now, scat before I really have a reason to be late!" When he'd vanished into the crowd, she let go of Neji's arm and gave him a very grateful bow. "Thanks so much. I don't know why you helped, but I'm grateful." She stood up and dashed off, taking the high ground.

Neji shrugged and continued walking. He was going to be right on time now. That made it easy for him. No waiting and no lecturing.


	2. Chapter 2: Testing Them

Neji walked into the room and was greeted by the other Jonin, who were conversing. In the corner, sitting beside her huge weapon, was the red-head from earlier. She looked distant and upset and nobody seemed to care. Neji tried to ignore her, remembering how mad she'd gotten with the "ding bat" of a friend.

It took a few moments for them to organize along the wall, leaving their weapons near the desk of the classroom. Since today was a half-day for the Academy students, it wasn't a big deal for them to nab a few empty classrooms. Tsunade allowed the Chunnin to take a good look at their future as they filed into the room. Neji did a head-count as they passed him and Isane by the door. Ninety-six? Why so many? A few Jonin seemed to agree and were waiting for the joke to be up.

Neji shook his head and watched them intently. Each of the Chunnin looked scared silly by him.

Tsunade walked in and cleared her throat, calling attention to the front of the room. "I am the Hokage and I called you select number of Chunin to be tried and tested for the Jonin Exams! Now, these are the Jonin that will be taking on only forty-eight of you. You won't have a say in who is chosen. Now, I'll give you Chunnin a few moments to prepare. Jonin, follow me." She stepped back out.

Neji followed her and as he exited, he realized that none of the other Jonin were really letting the red-head out. She seemed used to it and just waited for them to pass through before she closed the door behind her. She didn't seem bothered by the mean Jonin. Probably her dip-stick of a friend made her believe people were mean, no matter what.

"Here." Tsunade held out twelve scrolls for each of the Jonin. "Since you're the newest Jonin, you'll be able to connect easily with these newbies. Now, who you chose to train for the next three months will be the ones you drill and drill until you think they've got it. However, don't be harsher than you need to be. Don't hate them, it's their first day. Now, shoo."

Neji nodded and noticed that one scroll was a red and white scroll. The red-head took it before anyone else could. She slowly backed away and Neji watched as the other Jonin watched her carefully.

"Hey, none of you can have that scroll. Yukimizu Isane was the only Medical Ninja to pass her Jonin Exam with flying colors. Except for two of you, the rest of you shouldn't be so harsh. You didn't exactly pass with flying colors, did you?" Tsunade crossed her arms. "Red and white scrolls are classified information for only Medic-Nin to read. Only a Medic-Nin can authorize for another Medic-Nin to view the contents of the scrolls, as it stands. Any other questions?"

They ignored Isane again and she seemed relieved. She unfurled her scroll and was reading it while Neji approached her.

"Hey."

She looked up and gave him a weary smile. She had been crying. Isane's eyes were pink and she sniffed softly. "Hello. About earlier, I'm sorry. He's a dip-stick and really likes to beat me down. I've gotten used to being told I'm useless. You really didn't have to step in."

"I stepped in because I thought you wanted it." Neji turned on his heel and was about to walk away when--

"Neji! Isane! You're going in first to get your students." Tsunade smiled. "Shoo, go on."

Isane took a deep breath, tucked her scroll into her right sleeve and vanished through the door. There was a bunch of whooping before Neji walked in. Isane looked at Neji and let him go first.

Neji was irritated with her. She wasn't exactly a good person, but she wasn't exactly an average Jane. "I'll call the names of the eight students coming with me. Once I'm finished, Yukimizu-san will call the next eight and we'll depart right away to the training grounds."

Several students picked up their bags and equipment, preparing to depart.

Neij began, using only last names, since it wasn't a big classroom. "Jin, Gama, Makoto, Miji, Nara, Ping, Jing, and Kurokawa, come with me." He waited for Isane.

She didn't budge, but smiled warmly at the classroom. "Hachi, Najima, Momo, Ji, Ume, Tsuchi, Niji, Nima, come here." She didn't have to wait for her students, they came down, quiet and calm. Neji noticed they had a very small amount of focused chakra. They were all classified for Medical Ninja Training.

Isane gestured for Neji to go first and followed him quietly. He wasn't used to that feeling, of being put first. He finally stopped in the middle of the training ground. He knew the Chunnin would have to catch and he utilized all the spare time he had.

"Can you pull a harsh training exercise?"

"Depends. Do you want me to upset them or you?"

"Them. I want to see how they act as a team."

They formed a plan and waited patiently, hiding fake paper bombs all over the place. When they arrived, Neji and Isane turned around.

"Sir, ma'am!" They greeted, standing, despite their discomfort.

Isane bowed a little, meaning it was Neji's turn to speak, and speak he did. "First exercise! We've placed live bombs everywhere around you! First manner of business is to stop them before we set them off! If they go off, you'll have to patch up your partner! Teams of two! One Medic to each team! Scatter, quickly!"

It took them a good five minutes before they scattered. Isane smiled and kept her foot in place. It was the trigger to set off the smoke from each paper. One team came back rather quickly and Neji stared at them, as they stared back. He raised an eyebrow.

"Back so soon?"

"Why would you place real paper tags everywhere?! You know this training ground is used for the Academy students to train!"

Neji threw a kunai at a hidden bomb and it exploded, splinters flying everywhere and cutting the side of his face, as well as cutting up Isane's face and cloths. "Still think I'm joking?"  
The girl, Niji, gasped and jumped back. "No way! Why would you endager anyone here?!"

"Because, it's your first test! Now, get going."

"No. No way will I do that!" The duo had agreed and Neji shook his head.

"You give up so easily. Something the matter?"

"No! You're just bluffing."

Isane sighed and lifted her foot, the smoke rose from all around them, forcing screams and shouts from all sides. "If we were bluffing, care to bet your life on it?"

"Fine!" the duo said.

Isane lifted her left hand and a needle appeared. She threw it down and the paper bomb right at their feet flashed and they just barely got away. When the smoke cleared, Neji's rotation's crater was still smoking, with Isane holding his back arm, her hair still settling. She let go and stood up. "So, still want to bet on that?"

Niji hadn't been injured, but her partner, Gama was fatally wounded on the leg and he was losing a lot of blood. Niji didn't know what to do and Isane stepped forward. "Please! Do something!"

"What? You did this to him. You both thought we were bluffing. Does his wound look fake to you? Do you still think this is a game?"

Two of the pairs came out. They were each holding four bombs. Neji greeted them while Isane dealt with the trouble-making duo. It was how they were planning on narrowing it down. Real bombs, real threats, it was something he wanted them to learn. Obviously, Gama and Niji hadn't learned that. Within the hour, Gama was resting to regain his blood-loss and Neji and Isane had discovered their four students had been dwindled down to three each.

Isane said she'd see her students bright and early the next morning and dismissed them to enjoy the rest of their day. She sent he failed students back to the academy to explain to the Hokage how they'd failed, including Niji. She also dismissed Neji's rejected students.

He was teaching them how to fight a more powerful opponent. Isane decided to stay and watch. His bag of tricks on his shoulder told her that he'd make the fight last as long as he could. Isane suddenly noticed one of the three remaining students was making hand signs and Neji noticed her concern.

"What's--?"

The jutsu was complete and Isane jumped off the log, grabbing her huge slab of a sword and slammed it down, between Neji and the boy. The jutsu warped the metal, making it ripple. But the metal stayed that way, with the ripple. Isane twisted and sent the boy back nearly ten feet.

"I saw that!" She bore her teeth to him and he flinched. "Don't think you can pull a Forbidden Jutsu from me! Where'd you learn that, boy?!"

"Tch, like I'd tell you. What would you know about them anyways?"

"My blade knows. It rippled, telling me you were using a Forbidden Jutsu. Where did you get the knowledge of the Cutting Diviner's Dead?"

"How'd you know what it's called?!"

Isane lifted her right arm above her head. "Because it was used on me."


	3. Chapter 3: Real Name

Isane rapped on Neji's shoulder. "Hey, you're still ignoring me. Was it something I said or did?"

"More like something you DIDN'T say." Neji rounded on her. "Since when did you have that mark? When did you get like that? Why didn't you say something before?!"

"Neji, hold on!" Isane put her hand over his mouth. "I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it. I defied Hokage Sarutobi and the Counsel. Just to speak about it is against their orders. Neji, please, listen to me!"

"No! There's no reason to listen to you if you're going to lie to me like this." Neji kept his back to her. He listened for her following him. When he didn't hear the footsteps, he looked, with his Byakugan, to see if she was still standing there.

She was still there. Isane had a raised hand, like an invisible wall stood between them. Her face was contorted in something like pain and regret.

Neji ignored her and kept walking. He got to the gates of his home and stared at the top of them. This was his home, his place of refuge. He owed Hiashi his life for letting him live in the Main Household. He felt a deep seeded connection to this family that he'd become part of. To marry someone outside the Hyuga name was like a death sentence for Neji.

He thought about it, constantly. If he wasn't part of the Supporting Branches, maybe he'd have a wider variety of girls he could chose from. But he knew the consequences of marrying outside the Hyuga's. His cousin had gotten married and it was to a man from another clan and she was shunned from the Hyuga name for that.

He put his hand on the gate and it slid open so fast a gust went up and he was face-to-face with Hanabi, who looked flustered by something. Neji stood there for a moment, his hand still raised and he stared into Hanabi's tearful eyes.

"Dad's not home. I don't know where he is." Hanabi was strong, but when it came to her sister or father, she was always tearful and emotional because they were all she had. Their mother had died when Hanabi was seven and that made Hanabi become very attached to her family, Neji included.

"You thought I was him, didn't you?" Neji asked, lowering his hand.

"Yes." Hanabi let her head fall and she moved back to let Neji in. "I thought that maybe he was coming and wasn't going to leave again. Did you see him at all, Neji?"

"No, sadly, I didn't."

---Valley of the End---

"Isane?"

She jumped and looked over her shoulder at Hiashi. "Hyuga-sama!"

"Oh, no, it's okay." Hiashi held up a hand. "I simply came to see how you are. They told me you left intensive care this morning. Are your injuries okay?"

"You know, since you're the one who found me, I'm worried you're losing your edge." Isane looked at the darkening sky again. "You have a couple of daughters who are going to be worrying about you."

"They can wait. I was curious how you're faring since you left the ICU."

"Ah, well, sore here and there, but I'll survive." Isane closed her eyes and listened to the waterfall for a moment before she spoke again. "Do you still live by your nindo, Hyuga-sama?"

"To live a life that means something to someone, yes, Isane, I still live by it."

"I wish I had a nindo. Something I could live up to." Isane shrugged and looked at Hiashi. "You probably should get going. Kaito's going to be here soon. I wouldn't want you to be caught in my problem."

"Just think of something that could change the way you are," Hiashi said. "I still wonder who would take care of such a poor girl if I wasn't here?"

Isane laughed. "I like talking to you, but, sorry, you're too old for me and you're too married for my taste." She got up and dusted off. "Well, as a fellow Jonin to a fellow Jonin, I thank you for your company." She swept a graceful bow, her arms raised like a puppet-master held them up and her ankles crossed.

Hiashi shrugged. "Well, I should be off. Hopefully you'll survive this anger."

"I hope." She dropped her little bow and looked distantly at the waterfall. "Scat, you're kids are waiting." She mad a shooing motion.

---Neji---

He flinched and looked around. Hiashi was staring at him intently. Neji tried to keep that gaze but had to break off and stare at the bamboo growing in the courtyard.

"Neji, have you even tried getting a girlfriend?"

"No," Neji said, honestly. He knew that it was a losing fight, but he had to try. "I just haven't found anybody who fits as a good companion for me. If anybody does, I would want you to bless us first. I wouldn't want it to be someone whom you'd rather hang from the trees."

"Neji," Hiashi said, sitting beside his nephew. He looked at the bamboo with the moonlight hitting it. "If you wait too long, she may come and go and you may never know. I almost lost my wife because I wasn't sure. Your father was the same. Your mother was trying to make everything his life and he almost missed his chance."

Neji blinked and looked at the side of Hiashi's face. "I've never met my mother. Is she still alive?"

Hiashi looked sad and stared at the dirt. "No, Neji. Your mother died soon after your birth. She didn't want to leave and hung on long enough for her to hold you. She named you and your father was happy just to have you. He didn't care that you may never live up to expectations. His nindo was and still is that a life as worthy as your own is one worth living."

Neji stared out as fireflies began to buzz around. "A nindo?" he whispered.

"Neji! Dad!" Hinata and Hanabi smiled at them, both holding trays. Hinata set her's down. "We made some tea and pork buns. Care to have some?"

Neji didn't look at them, but stared at the sky. "I need to go talk to someone. I'll be back in a few minutes." He got up and ran through the house.

Maybe, just maybe, he could figure out who Isane really was. If he could find a real name, a solid person, he might find out just who she is. He had to talk to Tsunade, who would still be doing paperwork for the day in her office and would be open for talk from any member of the village.

It took him a minute and a half to get there and then a full five minutes to find her. She seemed to have been waiting for a guest because she had her paperwork stacked up nicely to the side.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted. He didn't want to say much else until he was sure she would pay attention. She gave him a gesture to continue. "I have a question about Yukimizu Isane."

"Ah, you're asking because she's a mysterious girl. Well, here." Tsunade plucked a scroll from her pile of info scrolls and handed it to him. It was tied and had a wax seal with the insignia of a kunai and three slashes inside a circle. "This is a scroll of all the current information on Yukimizu. She's got quite a small record for a ninja of her rank and status. Also, when you look through it, be sure to reseal it."

"What is this insignia?" Neji asked. "This isn't the insignia of the Yukimizu clan."

"Because she's not part of that clan, per say." Tsunade smiled. "It'll be explained in the scroll, Neji."

"Thank you." He bowed and turned on his heel, leaving. The scroll felt heavy on his guilt, but he put it away when he got home so he could enjoy the fireflies with his family.

The two men watched as Hinata and Hanabi ran around, trying to catch a few fireflies. Neji couldn't help but wonder if Isane was having fun with her family.

---Isane---

She pushed the door open and slumped to the floor. The blood on her hand and face was saturating her cloths as she clawed her way into her one-room apartment. Her leg was broken and her whole body ached. She managed to crawl up to the window before she started to heal her own injuries.

She'd gotten used to the pain.

Nobody stopped Kaito from beating her when nobody was looking. Nobody noticed her bruised face or her limp or her slowly weakening power. Her healing abilities were waning and there was nothing she could do about it, not without going to drastic measures.

She spent all night healing herself, on until the early hours of the dawn. It was for that reason she was getting weaker. She didn't get much sleep and was always using up chakra for her unwitting injuries.

"Three hours until we start the isolated training." Isane shuddered. "It's time to be a good teacher and show up early. One hour of sleep and then I've gotta go." She put her alarm clock on the sill with her and set it for an hour later. Isane fell asleep, her hair blowing away from her face from a cool morning breeze. 'Now that's the spot.'


	4. Chapter 4: First Exersise

Neji stepped into the clearing and stopped. Isane was perched on a stump and was playing with a squirrel. He wasn't sure how she'd gotten there before him, but he didn't bother asking.

"Good morning," Neji said, setting his bag down. He noticed she didn't have a large bag, like he did. It was a small parcel bag with a pair of drawstrings that formed the strap. The bag had some weird stains on it, probably from being used so much. "That's all you need?"

"Yes. A Medic must travel light and fast. All our equipment is small, useful, and light. Unlike regulation gear for most ninja, a Medic-Nin has lighter stuff." Isane put the squirrel down and stared at it as it ran circles around her before jumping into the tree. "It's so weird, but, whatever."

"Why is it weird?"

"Ah, nothing." Neji took notice that Isane wasn't facing him. "Besides that, I think it would be nice to be a regular ninja rather than a Medical one."

Neji reached out and turned her to him. He saw a slightly yellow discoloration on her face. "Did something happen to you last night?"

"No." Isane was lying.

"Then why do you have a yellow bruise on your face."

Isane was raising her hand to touch it, but Neji saw her chakra was going to try and heal it. He grabbed her hand and she gasped. "Um, well, something kind of happened." She looked away. "I got into a bit of a spot, that's all it was. It's nothing I can't handle."

Neji let her hand go, but still held onto her elbow. "Do you have any other injuries?"

"No." Isane wasn't lying that time and Neji let her go. "I'm fine. I can handle being this way. I've done it a million times before."

Neji was about to say something when he heard the students coming. Since Isane had narrowed her's down to two, Neji still had four to deal with. They had all exceeded their usual expectations. Neji let it drop and turned to greet the students.

"Today is your first, out-door exercise. The Medic-Nin will follow Isane, the rest of you, follow me. As of today, you can say goodbye to civilization. We'll be living out here for a two months before returning to the village. You'll have to learn to survive in foreign territory."

Isane signaled for her students to follow her.

Neji took off, into the forest. They followed him and Neji half wondered if this was what it was like for Gai, having to train one and not all three. After all, his two old teammates were still Chunin. He came to a halt near a stream, just to wait for them.

Once Kurokawa, Ping, Miji, and Makoto were in the clearing, Neji gestured to the stream.

"Is it drinkable water?" he asked, letting them decided for themselves. Neji knew that it wasn't good water for drinking, but it was good water once it was boiled. "Anybody?"

Makoto raised her hand. "I see something! It's not drinkable because it's got a fish population living in it. Maybe, if we boil some of it then we'll have good water."

"Good. Makoto, you gather the water and head back to camp. Kurokawa, Ping, Miji, follow me." He took off, across the stream. He was leaving little markers to tell him which way was back to camp. He found a small source of food, vegetation food anyways. It was mingled with some uneatable food. "Anything good to eat here?" he asked, letting them look around.

Miji and Ping pointed out that there was some good leaves and some bad shrubs. They were assigned to that. Neji told them to follow the blue tags at the base of some trees. He took Kurokawa to teach him how to collect usable wood for fires. He was just finishing up when he saw Isane and Ume and Nima following her. They were carrying baskets of herbs. Isane noticed Neji and gave him a little wave.

One back at camp, Neji watched Kurokawa build a fire. Isane was instructing Ume Hajime and Nima Sakura do some medical cremes. Neji listened to how strict Isane was.

"No! If you put that much, you'll have none left for anything else! Start again." She took away Ume's past and was adding water to it to dilute it. "If you really want to poison your little pal, then I suggest you try poison ivy." She was probably going to be like that the whole time they were in the forest.

Neji shook his head. How weird that they'd want nothing more than to annoy her. Or, if that wasn't the case, he'd have to bet on the fact that she wasn't a very easy on a person when it came to lives of allies or comrades. He was ready for the night, but he thought it would take all day for these kids to get it together and act as a unit.

While the Chunin left to gather more materials for a fire and medicine, Neji sat beside Isane as she stoked the fire to keep the flames going.

"Do you have any special talents? Other than medicine making?"

"Yes. I can fight good for someone of the medicine field. Why?"

"I was thinking we should teach them fighting techniques, at least to get them ready for real combat. Care to try it?" he asked, watching her move twigs around. He had the scroll in his bag and was planing on reading it later, but first, he wanted to help Isane train her kids how to fight real danger. "I mean, try it to make them see just how hard it is to defeat a strong opponent."

"Neji, I scared them silly already, what could I possibly do to make it easier to not be scared of me?" Isane asked, giving him a joking look. "If you think it helps, we can plan a surprise attack for the last weeks, when they'll have all the resources to do as instructed. Besides, we can find their weaknesses and their strengths in that time." Isane poked Neji with the charcoal end of the stick. She left a small, black mark on his shirt.

Neji looked at it and gave her a 'what was that for?' look before he shrugged and dusted it off. He quickly got up and watched the sky. "Maybe that will give me time to learn more about how cooperative you may or may not be."

"Ah, that depends." Isane drew on her hand with the charcoal. She made the sign of the leaf. "I don't know how well I can support you on one end. If you're expecting me to be weak and insignificant, you're far from the mark. I guess this whole training time, you'll see just how strong I am." She smiled and showed him her decorative Leaf Village sign.

Neji shrugged and walked over to his bag. This was going to be a LONG two months.

---nightfall---

She was perched on a ledge facing the village. It seemed like a whole other world away from her village life. She was free, at last, to be just who she wanted. She didn't have Kaito to boss her around or tell her how bad a ninja she already knew she was.

Neji was willing to take on her watchful duties when she got tired. She was impossibly tired, but she had agreed to take the first watch. That way she'd be dead sleeping until dawn, unless she had to stay up longer.

"Isane?"

She turned around. Neji was holding a blanket and had his own draped over his shoulders. "Why're you up so early and long before your shift?"

"I can't sleep. Here." He gave her the blanket he was holding and she welcomed the warmth. "I know nights can be a nightmare." He settled beside her and let his blanket be his shield from the cold stones. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm okay. I don't know. Why do you keep asking?"

"I wanted to know. You don't seem okay, not after Kaito and everything."

Isane's eyes went wide and she looked away. "It's fine. I don't think it matters."

Neji looked at her. "Why?"

"Love is foreboding and pretends to be wonderful. I've known nothing of that. Love is cold, cruel, unforgiving, and dark. I've never known it to be so wonderful like everyone says it is. If love rules our hearts, then why does mine have no warmth?"

Neji looked away. Maybe it was his perception, but he thought she was crying. "It's a nice night. Leaving them to sleep at the camp was a good idea, actually. Leave them to their elements."

"The cave was a good idea," Isane said, trying to make Neji feel better.

Neji watched the campfire that was their students' camp. It wasn't like he wasn't excited that he'd get to train some pupils of his own, but he showed nothing.

He felt Isane lean on him and looked down. She'd fallen asleep, and Neji's face flushed. She was beautiful as a normal girl. He looked down at the scroll perched on his knee. He decided he'd take the chance and read it, after all, he had nothing else to do.

Neji slowly broke the seal.


	5. Chapter 5: Final Mission

Neji was leaning on the tree and staring at the clouds in the sky. He had a gut-wrenching feeling that he was not going to see most of these kids survive. There hadn't been any word on exactly how many had been passed from the other teams.

"Neji?"

He looked to his left. Isane was perched on her little spot just a few feet away from the trunk of the tree on a different branch. She had some dirt on her face and her eyes were more lively than usual. Neji had seen her go from weak and frail to strong and nimble. He assumed it was something to do with how much sleep she'd gotten in the past four weeks.

"If you're wondering, I'm ready, but I don't think they are." He maneuvered around to prepare to launch off the branch at any moment. "Let's just get this over with before they decide to jump the gun."

Neji kicked off, spiraling through the air. Isane followed, spiraling as well. The duo threw kunai and sonbon through the air and they broke all the paper bombs, setting them off all around the camp. Isane landed on the east side while Neji made it all the way to the west side. Together, they threw kunais with paper bombs attached, making sure that the kiddies were awake.

Isane started her hand signs as Neji lunged forward, into the smoke from the kicked up dust. He could hear them all panicking and he smiled to himself. That meant that they didn't have a look-out posted outside the camp. He found his first target. He took Kurokawa, slamming him into the tree nearby.

Since Isane and Neji had used transformation jutsus, they looked like enemies, like minor Akatsuki. Neji had developed a new fighting style with Isane's help. Now was the time to utilize it.

While Kurokawa was still weightless, Neji released him and, using his index knuckles, pounded Kurokawa's upper torso several hundred times in rapid succession. He kept going when Kurokawa didn't expel blood from his mouth and didn't stop until he did.

The other five were stunned. Neji took the liberty to attack Nima, the medic, and he sent her flying into a tree with one kick. Isane appeared and grabbed Nima's feet, throwing her right down. Isane's hands then completed another rapid succession of hand signs and she slammed her clawed hand right down onto Nima's shoulder, cracking it.

Nima kicked Isane in the chest, sending her into the tree. Using her chakra, she began to heal the wound. Neji grabbed her arm. Since it was seen that Nima was the weak link, they could use her to take down the other two, and Neji was going to make good on his once chance to be the bad guy.

He pulled her hand away from her wound and examined it. He grabbed her shoulder and lifted her up by it, letting her screams echo. Isane landed beside the two and stopped Ping and Miji from coming closer. She made the signs for an earth-type jutsu. Before she could complete it, Makoto lunged over her fallen comrades and nearly hit Isane, if it wasn't For Neji, who grabbed her collar and threw Nima in the way. Isane slid between Neji's stance and hit the tree. She completed her signs.

Neji reached back and she took his hand. He'd learned not to underestimate Isane's will to do things her way, no matter how it contradicted life. He stepped forward, making his stance wide and strong, and threw her like she was nothing more than a rag and she hurled right into Makoto. Her hands spread out and sonbon shot out, stopping Ume from trying to approach to help heal anybody. She raised her hands so they pointed right at Makoto and she grabbed the girl, smashing into a tree and cracking it. Huge chunks of earth started to form over Makoto's feet, grounding her permanently.

Neji gave a signal and Isane took off, into the forest and back towards their little base camp, taking a wide detour to leave an odd trail.

Once back at the cave, they released the transformation and Neji noticed Isane had a small wound on her cheek from Nima's kick. He watched her heal it properly and she stared at him.

"Should we go 'check up' on them?" She asked it like it wasn't a big deal.

Neji shrugged. "Let's give them a moment and take our time getting there." He looked at their makeshift fire pit and couldn't help but remember the scroll. 'Unable to complete A-Rank mission. Failure to complete B-Rank mission. Failure to comply with Ninja Regulations. Unable to abide by rules.'

"Neji?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Let's go, before you space out and forget." She jumped off the cliff and disappeared into the trees.

'Failure to comply with Ninja Regulations.'

"Why?" he asked before jumping after her.

They arrived to find Makoto was still being broken free. Ume was healing Nima's wounded arm and the only one not present was presumably following the trail of the woman from the attack.

Neji looked at his three students by the tree. He put his hands on his hips. "How did this happen?" he asked, watching them prying stones off Makoto's feet.

"Kurokawa was supposed to be on watch. We don't know where he went. They had time to set this up!" Ping said, throwing a stone to the side before diving for another one. Her nails were raw from digging dirt and pebbles away form larger rocks. "That dipstick left us for dead." She didn't sound upset or angry, she just sounded lost and abandoned.

That was what Neji was expecting. They were going to punish Kurokawa for ditching them to do whatever it was that he wanted. Neji heard Makoto give out a blood-curling scream when Ping and Miji moved one rock from each of her foots. Neji didn't know what that was.

Isane did.

She lunged forward, fear evident in her eyes. She pushed the two rock-collecting ninja away to stop them. "Don't remove them so brutally! Doing it without letting the pressure ease will only cause pins-and-needles!" She put a hand to Makoto's throat and told them to gently continue. She looked at Neji, as if to ask him if they should surprise them again.

Neji agreed to doing part two of their plan. "So, you let someone leave and didn't set up a roster for watchers and scouts?" he asked, his eyes trying to find Kurokawa.

He found Kurokawa, who was returning. Nobody could answer Neji, so, he wanted to go to the source, Kurokawa, and was determined to figure this one out.

"What were you doing? You let someone get into your camp."

Kurokawa looked embarrassed. "Sir, I was taking a bathroom break. I didn't realize we were under attack until I saw the sonbon hit a paper bomb nearby. I was scared that something was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Is that all you've got to say for yourself?" Neji asked, staring down the young man.

"Yes."

Ping was about to interject herself when Isane came right up to him. Neji had to do everything to suppress a laugh as Isane blew up on him.

"That's it? You ditched your team for a bathroom break god knows how far away? You couldn't, oh, I don't know, do it behind a nearby tree?! You HAD to find a bush? Do you realize that somebody could've been seriously injured while you were looking for 'THE PERFECT' bush?!" Isane grabbed his collar and shook him violently back and forth, her piercing eyes dwindling Kurokawa's will-power. "Do you realize that you may have let everyone here die for a stupid bush?!"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't think it was that big a deal! Nobody came to fight us during the training, I didn't think one small bathroom break would be any different!" He was scared for his life and when Isane just breathed, Kurokawa's eyes became truly frightened he wouldn't see another day.

Isane's plan was to scare some sense into them if they didn't get the idea of working as a unit. If they did work well, she would only scare them enough to believe that they could be better. Neji was to step in if they started to cower away from her.

Neji put a hand on Isane's wrist. "That's enough. Let him go. If he wants to be so precise about where to use the restroom, let's build him a latrine. And by us, I mean you will all build one, understood?"

They looked confused and Isane rounded on the lot of them. "You are all pathetic! This whole time we left you be and you go and let them take control of you like this?! Didn't you try to fight back? It certainly looks like you haven't, not even a little bit! What's wrong with you guys?! You want some kind of award for your school time?! School is out and this is real life! You can't run off for a bathroom break in a fancy room with a toilet!"

Neji put a hand over her mouth and sat her down. "That's quite enough."

"Dang them all! They don't know what hard-as-nails would mean." Her eyes became harsh beams and they all cowered back. "Is there nothing to your stupidity?! No end to it?"

Neji turned her away so she was facing the trees. "In the meantime, let's regroup and fix things. Kurokawa, Ping, go make the latrine. The rest of you, let's clean this up."

Neji was about to start when he noticed a bird flying right for Isane. She got up and lifted her arm to welcome the messenger hawk. She took the message and read it quickly.

"No time for clean-up duty!" She marched up to Neji and handed him the small scroll. "We're being called away to an important mission. Forget the rest of these tricks, get back to the village, as soon as you can! Neji and I have to get going to take this mission." She looked at Neji and it clearly said 'urgency' all over it.

"What's the important mission?" Neji asked.

Isane briefed it. "The Kazekage is requesting an audience with Kakashi. It would seem that we have to escort him and another Jonin to the rendezvous. After that, we have to escort the Kazekage and his escorts back to the Sand Village and remain there until we're cleared for departure."

Neji nodded. "Sounds easy enough."


	6. Chapter 6: Watch Post

Neji, Isane, and Shikamaru stood at the gate with Kakashi. He was signing out when Tsunade appeared. She had the rest of Team Gai with her.

"It would appear that there's a problem along the way. Team Gai will be going with you part of the way and splintering off to complete their mission." Tsunade smiled warmly at Isane and Neji. "I trust that wouldn't be too hard, Neji?"

"No, milady." Neji gave her a sort of nod of approval.

Isane didn't say anything, she was staring out at the forest instead. After a second or two, Tsunade made a small noise and Isane just gave a small wave of her left hand, as if she was incoherent to Tsunade. "I understand. I won't mind. It's Kakashi's decision, as he's the leader of the mission."

Kakashi gave his approval and Team Gai signed out as well. All of the Jonin took a defensive position according to Shikamaru's schematics. That way Ten Ten and Lee would be protected from all sides, should a tough opponent attack. Since it was getting closer to the darker hours of the day, Kakashi was already looking for a good place to land for the night and make camp for the whole squad under _his_ command.

Finally, he stopped and dropped into a small clearing. "We'll make camp for the night."

Isane and Ten Ten set about clearing up space for a fire and gathering supplies for a long night. Isane spent most of her time making ointments and medicine for the "just in case" moment that wasn't bound to happen. Lee spent his time doing nothing but training, really. To add to that, Gai and Kakashi were having a staring contest.

Shkamaru just shook his head and laid down to watch the stars.

---Sunagakure---

Gaara looked up. Hoshiko was standing there, her hands clamped behind her back. Her long hair was tied back, like always, and she had a big smile.

"What're you doing at this hour? You know Baki's gonna throw a fit if you don't turn up soon, right?" Hoshiko asked, kneeling down. Her gray hair moved to reveal some of her old scar that was Gaara's fault.

Gaara had to look down at the books he'd dropped. "Why would he worry? He's angry that I'm even bothering to pass on some intelligence our Anbu corpse collected. He wants it to stay in the village."

"Well, if that's the case, then why is it that you don't care?"

"I just.... don't." Gaara stood up, brushing her off. He'd done this so many times in the last few weeks that he'd almost forgotten how close they'd been. This was insurance so he knew his siblings, his family wouldn't reject him again. Hoshiko had come up with the idea.

"Well, care for a stroll?"

"No. I have to leave tonight."

"Then I'll come with you."

Gaara stopped. He hadn't thought about that. Kankuro was training some new guys and Temari had a meeting-filled day tomorrow and the day after was her spare day to be spent doing her errands. He didn't have any support. He took a deep breath. "Okay, you can come. Just promise me you won't do anything dangerous."

"So, follow you or play your deco.... is that dangerous? Gaara, you know me. I won't jump into battle unless I absolutely have to."

"I also know you have a quick temper." Gaara reached over and patted Hoshiko's soft gray hair. "You are all I've got outside my family that's this close. Just come with me and come back, that's all there is to it."

Hoshiko smiled. "I've got a friend that I send messages to all the time. I think I'll see her." Hoshiko gave Gaara a quick hug so she could have her moment to be all of his attention. She had grown used to being the side-man for Gaara. She loved him from the sidelines. It gave him a reason to come back alive from dangerous things. He enjoyed their little pockets of time they spent counting stars or eating together.

Gaara had long since known that Hoshiko would be the one he'd marry. So, secretly, Hoshiko had asked for his hand, but was waiting to ask Kankuro and Temari for their approval. So, now, she might have leverage if her friend was as good as Hoshiko had said. Isane was a smooth talker and Hoshiko believed she could soften the blow for the two of them and make it easy for them to say yes.

---Isane---

She woke with a start when Neji touched her arm.

"It's your shift. Do you want to keep sleeping?"

"No, no." Isane slowly moved, her deep red hair turning orange as the fire embers blasted it with light. She reached up and slowly rose to her feet.

There was a noise and she reacted, but Neji grabbed her arm. "It's just Gai and Lee. They're still training. They've been in and out all night. Ignore them."

"That's because the power of youth drives us!"

Isane blinked. "The power of what?"

"Don't ask." Neji shuffled passed and found his little nook to sleep in.

"The power of youth is all that gives us strength! It makes us--!"

Isane had grabbed Gai's thumb as he gave her a thumbs-up and twisted it sideways. "Shush. People are sleeping. Go back to your, um, training?" She let go. "I don't want to have to put the two of you down for vulgar language and manners."

Neji shook his head. They had it coming. He settled down and prepared for a long night.


	7. Chapter 7: What Reason?

When Neji was woken later, he stared at the fresh earth before getting up. He dusted off bits of dirt from his palms and noticed Ten Ten and Isane were whispering something to each other and the other males were curious.

Neji, on the other hand, ignored them. He collected his things and asked if there was anything he could do to help clean up the camp site.

Kakashi agreed to let Neji help with Isane and Ten Ten's chore of dispersing any signs of a fire. Isane had agreed to carry the still hot logs and some stones to be disposed of in a nearby pool of water. Neji assisted her, since it was heavy. She and Neji stacked the pieces onto her blade.

When he closed his hands on the blade, Neji half expected to be cut, but, instead, it was dull, more like a very thick slab of metal than a sword at all. As they walked, it dawned on Neji that the sword itself looked somewhat shorter than he'd remembered it. He didn't say anything because it was rather pointless to make a statement about it. They found the pool of water and Neji watched Isane stay back from the edge.

Her profile had said she had a fear of water. It was obvious now. She was trying not to let the water touch her as she tossed the objects in. There was a wave of water coming back from the displacement when she ducked behind her weapon, using it to stop the water from hitting her.

Neji just moved back so the water only touched the soles of his footwear. He watched Isane shake off a bit of moisture on her knees before running to stand beside Neji. "Can we go now?" he asked, turning to leave without an answer.

As they walked back to the campsite, Isane asked Neji; "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He stopped and wheeled around. "Don't ask me those things. You have no business asking me."

"Alright." She just smiled. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push it. So, you think we'll make it to Sunagakure all fine and dandy?"

Neji shook his head. "Without a scratch? That would be impossible. No mission goes perfectly according to the plan of the leader. Besides that, you and I will be staying in Suna longer, depending upon Kakashi and Gaara's orders." Neji started walking again.

Isane seemed to have let that one go. She seemed much more likable than any of the other girls Neji had met. She wasn't obnoxious, she wasn't quiet, and she wasn't such a tomboy it was impossible to see her as a girl. Neji thought there was something he liked about her, not too much.

Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't super strong or super important. She was so plain, except for her ninja skills.

Neji shook it off. His head had to be clear and focused on the mission. He couldn't have his thoughts on anything else, for fear he'd fall apart.

When they got back, everyone was ready to get going. Kakashi gave a quick smile to Isane as she hitched her sword back on her back.

As they made their last, quick spring for the small village they'd meet the Kazekage in, Neji's eyes looked to his left. Isane's sprint was much different than anyone else. Isane jumped, yes, but she twisted through branches and leaves and limbs with ease. It was the turning motion that caught Neji's attention.

The report on her had said that Isane avoided anything touching her right arm. Was it possible she'd developed this sprint to avoid hurting herself with branches?

---Hoshiko---

She was sprawled out in the grass, watching the clouds. They'd made it early, as promised, and she was enjoying the smell of grass and the beautiful blue skies with the few clouds they held.

At the moment, Hoshiko was disguising herself as Gaara, as to let the kage wander around and see the village through her body, where nobody would be scared of him or treat him special and he could experience normal living. She didn't actually care. She thought it was nice to let him have his own path.

There was a soft "thump" and she sat up. Isane was standing there, obviously shocked.

"Hello," Hoshiko said, trying not to smile.

Isane looked behind her and then bowed to Hoshiko. "Sir, um, what's the difference between friendship and alliances?"

"Nothing. Friends form alliances with strong bonds."

Isane breathed easy. "Forgive us for being so late. We had a bit of a hold up when we parted with another team. Perhaps we can make up for that time, Kazegake-sama?"

Hoshiko smiled. "I'm not Gaara." She clasped her hands together and the sand melted off her face and her hair unfurled. She smiled at Isane. "He's in town, doing some shopping and to find something to do while we waited. You are late, true, but not by much."

"An hour is unacceptable," Kakashi said. He stepped forward to save Isane the trouble of explaining herself. "Where is Gaara? I'd like to speak to him promptly, so we can get this over with and I can send these Jonin with you."

Hoshiko smiled brightly and perked up. "Alright. He should be--"

"Here." Gaara was walking up the beaten path beside the sprawling lawn of grass. His hair was a bit longer and he looked a bit worn from travel. But it looked just like the refreshed Gaara Kakashi and Neji had seen after his rebirth. He gave a small smile and held his hand out. "It's good to see you again, Kakashi-san."

"Yes, good to see you too. Let's get down to business."


	8. Chapter 8: The Decission

Neji kicked the dirt and watched the cloud disperse. As if he weren't bored enough, it was nearly noon and Hoshiko was muttering on and on about something. Isane was standing at the road that led to the little house that the duo were discussing information.

Neji leaned back, his feet slid on the loose gravel. It caused a few more little clouds of dust as he put his hands on the grass behind him. He stared at his knees.

"How long do they plan on taking?" Hoshiko whined. She fell back, into the tall grass, vanishing as she went.

Neji glared sideways at Hoshiko. "Things like this can't and won't be rushed. There's no point in running your mouth like that."

Hoshiko bolted up. "Whatever! You're a weirdo anyways!"

Neji dropped his head. "Strong words from an ex-fiancee. Look, it's not like I want to be here either." Neji felt a stone hit him in the back of the head and he wheeled around, rising to his knees. "What's your problem? I was just stating a fact!"

"Well don't! Kazekage-sama is much better than that! He's got a good explanation for everything he does!"

"You little piece of--!"

Isane cleared her throat.

They both looked at her and she crouched down. The two kids that came to her held out a hand each.

"Hey, there, little ones." Isane's smile was small and seemed wary of anything they would try to pull. They dropped a coin each in her palm before they laughed and ran off, down the road again.

Neji was about to say something when he noticed two very gruff looking men come walking up the lane. He watched them carefully.

"You three are trespassing on private property. State your business, strangers!"

Neji stood up as Hoshiko came to stand by his side. The duo watched Isane.

"We're here for no reason that concerns you." Isane didn't seem to be fazed by the fact that she was thinner, smaller, or less expressive than the two men.

"You're tough for a little girl."

Hoshiko grabbed Neji's arm. "Get ready to bail. I'll grab Isane."

Neji nodded. He stepped forward and touched Isane's shoulder. "You can stop. Let's just go, leaving them to be village men."

Isane looked at him. "Why?"

"They'll find out." Neji gave them a quick bow. "We'll leave."

They waited as the trio took off, blurring in every direction. As the men wandered off, Isane landed on the roof, crouching down so her knee was pressed into the bridge of the roof. She watched them disappear over the bridge and she signaled for the other two to come back.

Neji appeared on the pathway to the front door as Hoshiko appeared near the fence. She had her back to Neji and Isane, who were looking at each other. Isane gave a shrug and Neji made a "hmph" as she smiled at him.

Hoshiko smiled, turned away from them.

The door opened and all three quickly formed a straight line, waiting for their instructions.

Kakashi smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Perhaps you should just go now. Hoshiko and I need to head to Konoha for some unattainable news." Gaara smiled when they stared at him. "For now, Neji, Isane, you'll be under Gaara's direct command. I leave them to you. Hosiko, let's go."

Isane smiled at Neji and Neji just stared at her. Could it get any worse? She wasn't exactly someone he wanted to spend the rest of the journey with. He noticed her smile was artificial and glared at her. Was she always going to be so artificial with her grin?

Isane looked shocked, but didn't speak out loud. Slowly, she looked him in the eye again.

Gaara noticed their little squabble and smiled. He'd always been like that with Hoshiko. Maybe that was because they were two, totally opposite people that had learned a great deal about getting along. However.... Gaara took note that Isane's eyes always looked at Neji's face and never looked anywhere but his eyes when he spoke. Was Isane forged that way? Or was it something she was forcing herself to do?

He ignored it and beckoned them over. "I'll take you back to the village for some much needed nourishment. Please, I'm sure the Suna ninjas would be happy to have some new faces."

"Is there an herbal garden?" Isane asked, evidence in her voice that she wanted to get away from Neji.

"Yes. I'm sure our medic-nin will be happy to assist you if you need anything, seeing as you're one of them." Gaara turned to leave and heard Isane give a little sigh of relief. He smiled to himself. She was turning out to be just as Hoshiko had predicted; willing, able, and in serious need of a love guru.


End file.
